On the recordFebruary 15, 2011
I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Chair, as many have said here today, our government has a spending problem, and the American people are demanding that we find a solution. This CR that is before the House today is a step towards finding a solution to that problem. The homeland security title of this CR strikes the right balance between funding priority programs that are essential to our Nation's security and at the same time keeping our discretionary spending in check. This CR provides a total of $41.5 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Homeland Security. This funding level is $1 billion, or 2.4 percent, below FY 2010 and $2.1 billion, or 4.8 percent, below the President's FY 2011 request. In contrast to previous annual spending bills, this CR provides funding for the annual costs of disasters from within the existing budget. So rather than relying upon emergency supplementals, the CR responsibly addresses the $1.6 billion shortfall in disaster relief costs that the President has failed to address in the 2011 budget request. Supporting the cost of security demands truth-in-budgeting, and we are delivering where the President and OMB have failed. Having said that, the Department of Homeland Security is not immune from fiscal discipline. Underperforming programs have been significantly cut in this CR that we are debating today. Let me add, by implementing these cuts, we are not choosing between homeland security and fiscal responsibility.
